


Forever Home

by seungchoels



Series: sf9 hybrids au [1]
Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Cat/Human Hybrids, Gen, Hybrids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 11:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15706125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungchoels/pseuds/seungchoels
Summary: Hwiyoung finds a forever home. Taeyang finds a forever companion.





	Forever Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is a non-sexual hybrids au. If y'all are looking for faux bestiality, click 'x' right now.
> 
> Hwiyoung introduces himself as 15 years old, but he's actually 15 years old in terms of cat hybrid aging. They tend to grow a lot faster than regular humans do. In terms of regular human years, he's only a year old and is a kitten; that's why he's very naive.
> 
> I'll be (hopefully) writing a lot in this au.

Hwiyoung is 15 years old when the human who takes care of their litter scratches him affectionately behind his ear, and asks if he wants a 'forever home'. He glances over at Jaeyoon hesitantly, but the older hybrid merely nods at him encouragingly.

He's heard of 'forever homes'. The older cats from other litters talk about them often. It's a place that hybrids end up in when a human chooses them. Some of the cats are wary of these 'forever homes', wary of humans, and they speak in hushed whispers of cruel things that scare Hwiyoung.

But he thinks of Wooseok, whose 'forever home' is the farm they live on. He belongs to the human who takes care of them and he seems happy, with his collar and his multitude of brothers who dote on him. And Wooseok's human has never been unkind to them.

His curiosity gets the better of him and he leans into the comforting touch of Wooseok's human.

"Yes, please."

 

Wooseok's human brings him from the quarters where the cats stay to a room he's never been into before and tells him to wait for a minute, that he's going to bring in the human that's interested in giving Hwiyoung a 'forever home'. He nods and eyes the soft cushions by the windowsill, where the sunlight is streaming in, warm and inviting. The door clicks shut and he curls himself up by the floral patterned cushions, absentmindedly gazing out of the windows.

Wooseok's human gives them free reign of the outdoor grounds as long as they don't pass the fences, but Hwiyoung's never been an outdoor cat. Jaeyoon and Dawon like to scamper off in the afternoons to explore the great outdoors, but Hwiyoung finds himself more content to look for a warm spot in their quarters and take a nice long nap. Chani, his littermate, is a little more energetic and playful, but he doesn't mind.

The fields are occupied now with a couple of older cats, kicking a ball around. Hwiyoung vaguely recalls the game they're playing -- football? Baseball? Maybe volleyball? -- but he doesn't know for sure. He grins when one of the teams start cheering, piling on each other in hugs. He loves a good cuddle pile. It's nice when Jaeyoon, Dawon and Chani indulge him. The other cats do too, sometimes, but those three do the most.

"Hello," a quiet voice greets, interrupting Hwiyoung as he zones out watching the cats play ball. It's a human, not Wooseok's, in the room. Tall, but not as tall as Wooseok, with pretty colours in their hair and a gentle smile. No tail and human ears, by the side of their head, that's how Hwiyoung knows.

"Hi," Hwiyoung mumbles, his tail winding around his waist, end hooked. His ears perk up to listen to the human better, but he doesn't shift from his comfortable perch.

"My name's Taeyang," the human offers, standing a few steps away from Hwiyoung, "what's yours?"

"Hwiyoung," he replies and tilts his head, one ear flattened down and the other up. There's a distant noise that sounds like a squabble that distracts him for a moment, but the human -- Taeyang -- simply waits serenely until his attention turns back.

"Hello Hwiyoung, what are you doing over there?" Taeyang asks and Hwiyoung's tail straightens as he pats the space next to him.

"I'm watching the other cats play ball. Do you know what kind of ball that is?" Taeyang sits without being told twice and grins, a pretty grin, and tells him what kind of ball the older cats are playing. It's called football, so Hwiyoung was right.

 

He doesn't go home with Taeyang that day. After an hour or so, Wooseok's human pops his head in and says something that takes Taeyang away. Then he tells Hwiyoung that he can go wherever he feels like now. Hwiyoung goes back to the quarters and maybe sneaks one of the floral cushions with him.

Wooseok is the one who comes to him a few days after and explains to him what the process of going to a 'forever home' is like. Apparently, it used to be that humans could just choose a hybrid and take them home after paying a fee; just like an animal. Now, hybrids are allowed a choice too. Wooseok tells him that Taeyang will visit a few more times and they'll make sure his credentials are clean (whatever that means, Hwiyoung wasn't paying attention). If he likes Taeyang, he can go to his 'forever home'. If he doesn't, Wooseok's human will be glad to continue taking care of him.

He nods to that, and then asks Wooseok if he'll stroke his hair. Wooseok obliges.

 

So Taeyang keeps coming back to the farm.

"What do you like to eat, Hwiyoung?"

"Hmm, I don't like seafood."

"Oh? What about food you do like to eat?"

"I like everything else. Eggplant is… nice. I tried it the other day."

"That's true, eggplant is nice. I know a place that does a good stirfry. Maybe we can go there together someday."

"Un."

 

Sometimes when Taeyang comes, he's quiet but always interested. Other days, he's more energetic and cheerful like Jaeyoon and Dawon. On this particular day, though, he's muted and colourless. It bothers Hwiyoung and he sidles closer to the human, but doesn't speak first.

"Am I… likable?" Taeyang asks him.

"I like you," Hwiyoung affirms with a nod and wraps his arms around one of Taeyang's. He's not sure when he'll ever get around to actually getting his 'forever home', but he wouldn't mind it with Taeyang.

"Really?" Taeyang seems surprised and that bothers Hwiyoung, his tail flicks back and forth behind him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was doubting you. I'm just having a rough week, you know?" Hwiyoung… doesn't really know.

He knows Taeyang is a student human, that he's still learning things. He's here to adopt a hybrid companion because he recently lost a close family member (although he didn't tell Hwiyoung who and Hwiyoung didn't bother asking either). He chose cat hybrids because they're lower energy, in general, compared to dog hybrids and he's not an extrovert (Hwiyoung still doesn't understand what the word means). He knows a lot of things about Taeyang, but not really a lot of things about humans.

"Want me to stroke your hair? Feels good," Hwiyoung suggests, wiggling his fingers, and Taeyang bursts into a small fit of laughter, shoulders less tense. He nods and Hwiyoung smiles, tangling his hand in Taeyang's hair. It's soft, not as soft as a hybrid's hair but it's nice all the same. He massages his fingers through the way he does for the other cats, but it's strange that Taeyang doesn't have ears in the right place.

"You're right, it does feel good," Taeyang murmurs, leaning against Hwiyoung. His weight is warm and familiar by now. Hwiyoung wraps himself closer and doesn't notice himself nuzzling his scent mark against Taeyang's cheek.

 

"It's taken me a while, but I think I'm ready," Taeyang announces during his visit. Hwiyoung looks at him questioningly, one ear down and one ear up again. Taeyang just smiles and pulls forward a paper bag that he brought with him when he came into the room.

"I told you about how I came here because my friends suggested it to me, right?" Hwiyoung nods. He remembers Taeyang telling him about a friend, a Youngbin and his dog hybrid, Rowoon. He remembers hearing about how they worried over Taeyang when he fell sick from grief and so told him to seek a companion.

"Well, to be honest, I wasn't really looking for a permanent thing. I thought I'd come and maybe think about it, but I didn't think I'd have the heart to commit to anyone. It felt like trying to replace the person I'd lost and I didn't want to do it. But then I came in and I browsed the portfolios and I saw you.

"I thought, maybe I could try. And I did. I tried coming down to see if maybe we didn't fit after all, if maybe this was a bad idea and I might not be good enough anyway to afford a hybrid companion. But you were a perfect fit, Hwiyoung, and I'm hoping you'll want me to be your forever human," Taeyang pulls a box out of the paper bag and opens it.

Inside is a simple black collar with Hwiyoung's name engraved on it.

"Okay," Hwiyoung takes the collar and tries to figure out how to put it on but he's never actually seen one besides the ones on Wooseok and his brothers. And it's not like he's ever seen those come off.

"Eh? Really? Just like that?" Taeyang looks taken aback, Hwiyoung scrunches his nose and his tail starts flicking around behind him. Taeyang notices and murmurs a quick apology, before taking the collar and showing him how to undo the buckle so that he can put it on himself.

"So now we can go home?" Hwiyoung asks, hugging Taeyang around the waist and burying his face into the warm crook of Taeyang's neck. Taeyang laughs, a full bodied shake and vibration, although he wraps his arms around Hwiyoung too and doesn't dislodge him.

"Yeah, Hwiyoung, we can go home now."


End file.
